Part 5 (2/2)

With so many shared interests and a vocation in common, the two men soon developed a close and mutually profitable relationshi+p Of course Garcia Marquez had infinitely ain Fuentes was not only several years ahead of him in terms of career development, he was a Mexican in his own country and he had developed over the previous decade a quite extraordinary network of contacts withintellectuals in the world-the worlds-in which Garcia Marquez aspired to move Fuentes could take him to places that almost no other writer in Latin Aenerosity was unrivalled Above all, Fuentes's Latin American consciousness was much more developed than that of Garcia Marquez and he was able to tutor and groom the still raw and uncertain Colombian for a role in a vast Latin American literary drama that Fuentes, more than any other man alive, could foresee and for which, more than any other man alive, he would be personally responsible

Garcia Marquez and Fuentes began to work together on the script of ”The Golden cock” with Roberto Gavaldon Garcia Marquez would later clai with the director about the script and got nowhere The movie was eventually filmed between 17 June and 24 July 1964 at the famous Churubusco studios and on location in Queretaro, with star actors Ignacio Lopez Tarso and Lucha Villa as the leads When the ninety-minute production eventually opened on 18 December 1964 it would be a co is ritualistic and iestive, never overt, and nothing could have been h both enre, particularly Garcia Marquez-he said it was ”a safety valve to liberate hosts”-neither of them would ever be entirely at home in film work38 It is not difficult to see why they persisted, however: there was no money to be made in literature in those days, or so it seemed, and the movies were a way to appeal directly to the consciousness of the great Latin American public Moreover, in the 1960s, in a relatively repressive society like Mexico's, the cinema, with its new approach to sexuality and nudity, and its use of beautiful actresses and young, outgoing, avant-garde directors, gave rare and privileged access both to glamour and to the cultural future Unfortunately the 1960s also encouraged much effervescent but vacuous nonsense, not least in Mexico To be up to date, fashi+onable and ”where it was at,” or better, to be ”in,” became essential in those days and even Garcia Marquez and Fuentes found themselves seduced by the cultural market and its public relations machine It is not difficult to see why they persisted, however: there was no money to be made in literature in those days, or so it seemed, and the movies were a way to appeal directly to the consciousness of the great Latin American public Moreover, in the 1960s, in a relatively repressive society like Mexico's, the cinema, with its new approach to sexuality and nudity, and its use of beautiful actresses and young, outgoing, avant-garde directors, gave rare and privileged access both to glamour and to the cultural future Unfortunately the 1960s also encouraged much effervescent but vacuous nonsense, not least in Mexico To be up to date, fashi+onable and ”where it was at,” or better, to be ”in,” became essential in those days and even Garcia Marquez and Fuentes found themselves seduced by the cultural market and its public relations machine

In July he confessed to Plinio Mendoza that his admiration for Alejo Carpentier's recent novel Explosion in a Cathedral Explosion in a Cathedral was beginning toFuentes, no doubt-about the relation between the tropics and the literary baroque He drew Plinio's attention to the success in Europe the year before of translations of Explosion in a Cathedral, Fuentes's was beginning toFuentes, no doubt-about the relation between the tropics and the literary baroque He drew Plinio's attention to the success in Europe the year before of translations of Explosion in a Cathedral, Fuentes's The Death of Artemio Cruz The Death of Arteas Llosa's The Time of the Hero The Time of the Hero, a list which included the first three novels of as not yet known as the ”Boom”39 Little did he dream that the fourth and most famous novel of all would be written by him Little did he dream that the fourth and most famous novel of all would be written by him

Gabo and Mercedes were now offered the opportunity of ht into a new house that was ideal for their purposes40 It was, he told Plinio, ”a great house, with a garden, a study, a guest rooeois life, in a very quiet and traditional sector full of illustrious oligarchs” This was soeration: it was true that the house was close to such a sector but they were separated froreeable, quiet and co last, had his own study, a ”cave full of papers” The house was sparsely furnished but rooh largely empty of possessions it would always be full of music, especially Bartok and the Beatles It was, he told Plinio, ”a great house, with a garden, a study, a guest rooeois life, in a very quiet and traditional sector full of illustrious oligarchs” This was soeration: it was true that the house was close to such a sector but they were separated froreeable, quiet and co last, had his own study, a ”cave full of papers” The house was sparsely furnished but rooh largely empty of possessions it would always be full of music, especially Bartok and the Beatles41 Yet in the midst of all the social whirl, behind the fake bonhomie and despite his new-found security and respectability, Garcia Marquez was increasingly unhappy Pictures of him from this period are painful to look at: he exudes tension and stress Sohts at parties He riting nothing that he cared about, except, on and off, The Autumn of the Patriarch The Autu nowhere He was a petty-bourgeois script-writer and ad as Llosa, who had no revolutionary antecedents, were being courted by the Cuban Revolution while he was out in the cold When the influential Uruguayan literary critic Eal, ould play a funda not only Fuentes and Garcia Marquez but all the other writers of the rapidly swelling Booio de Mexico, he had found Garcia Marquez in a disturbing mental condition: ”a tortured soul, an inhabitant of the most exquisite hell: that of literary sterility To try to speak to him about his earlier work, to praise (for example) No One Writes to the Colonel No One Writes to the Colonel, was like torturing him with one of the most subtle machines of the Inquisition”42 He soldiered on In late 1964 he rewrote his first original screenplay, El charro El charro, originally to have been filmed by Jose Luis Gonzalez de Leon Noas directed by the twenty-two-year-old Arturo Ripstein and retitled Tiempo de in, like so e, a one back to an apartment of his in Colo a sweater Its origin, like so e, a one back to an apartment of his in Colo a sweater44 In the screenplay a hteen years in prison for areturns to his hoe, despite the fact that the sons of the dead er son has a change of heart but the other repeatedly provokes the olderitself-until finally, ironically, the protagonist shoots the older son and the younger son then shoots the protagonist dead without resistance on the other's part Obviously this was a rewrite of his grandfather's experience in Barrancas, when he too was provoked by a younger h of course Nicolas Marquez eventually shot his adversary and spent only one year in jail, not eighteen In the screenplay a hteen years in prison for areturns to his hoe, despite the fact that the sons of the dead er son has a change of heart but the other repeatedly provokes the olderitself-until finally, ironically, the protagonist shoots the older son and the younger son then shoots the protagonist dead without resistance on the other's part Obviously this was a rewrite of his grandfather's experience in Barrancas, when he too was provoked by a younger h of course Nicolas Marquez eventually shot his adversary and spent only one year in jail, not eighteen

The movie was eventually filmed at Churubusco and in Patzcuaro between 7 June and 10 July 1965, only weeks after Garcia Marquez had coe Martinez de Hoyos, Marga Lopez and Enrique Rocha; the dialogue would be adapted by Carlos Fuentes, the careat Alex Phillips, and the titles were produced by Garcia Marquez's friend Vicente Rojo It was ninety ust 1966 at the Cine Variedades in Mexico City Yet again a enerally considered a failure, though the young director's raw cineraphic talent was evident to all Garcia Marquez and Ripstein would each blame the other Garcia Marquez's contribution was typical of his cineraphic virtues and vices: the plot was alue was far too sententious for aclarity that for hi than writing literary stories, even if al for fil public; second, you inevitably lost your independence, your political and rity, and even your identity; because finally, producers and directors inevitably saw you as merely a means to an end, a commodity45 Nevertheless as, in many respects, Garcia Marquez's most historic moment in the movies had co new era, when many of Mexico's best-known celebrities,of his story ”There Are No Thieves in This Town” in late October 1964 It was the tale of a layabout in a s the ivory billiard balls in the local pool hall, only to bring disaster upon hi wife and their recently born child46 Fil took place in Mexico City and in Cuautla Garcia Marquez hie, played the ticket collector outside the village cineave a particularly uneasy performance Luis Bunuel played the priest, Juan Rulfo, Abel Quezada and Carlos Monsivais were dominoes players, Luis Vicens was the owner of the pool hall, Jose Luis Cuevas and Emilio Garcia Riera were billiards players, Maria Luisa Mendoza was a cabaret singer, and the painter Leonora Carrington played a churchgoer dressed in aon and Graciela Enriquez Decidedly one of the better fil took place in Mexico City and in Cuautla Garcia Marquez hie, played the ticket collector outside the village cineave a particularly uneasy performance Luis Bunuel played the priest, Juan Rulfo, Abel Quezada and Carlos Monsivais were dominoes players, Luis Vicens was the owner of the pool hall, Jose Luis Cuevas and Emilio Garcia Riera were billiards players, Maria Luisa Mendoza was a cabaret singer, and the painter Leonora Carrington played a churchgoer dressed in aon and Graciela Enriquez Decidedly one of the better films of the era, There Are No Thieves in This Town There Are No Thieves in This Toas ninetyand pre and premiered on 9 September 1965

Despite these and other developments, the movies had started to lose their charm for Garcia Marquez at just the moment that he found hiood o on working in the Mexican cinema with tolerable success for as far into the future as he wanted Yet he was also beco aware that this was not where his talent lay, that the satisfactions of script-writing were limited, and in any case the script-writer was never in full control of his own destiny He was beginning to feel trapped again Besides, the world of Latin A, ironically, lamorous than the an to perceive that the movies were part of the trouble he had had with literature It was not soliterary scripts for a quite different h undoubtedly he was; the real problem was that the movies had taken over his conception of the novel, years before, and he needed to go back to his own literary roots Looking back several years later, he reflected: ”I always thought that the cineh its tremendous visual poas the perfect means of expression All my books before One Hundred Years of Solitude One Hundred Years of Solitude are hampered by that uncertainty There is an immoderate desire for the visualization of character and scene, a ue and action and an obsession with indicating point of view and fra in cinema, however, I came to realize not only what could be done but also what couldn't be done; I saw that the predoe over other narrative elee but also a li discovery because only then did I become aware of the fact that the possibilities of the novel itself are unlimited” are hampered by that uncertainty There is an immoderate desire for the visualization of character and scene, a ue and action and an obsession with indicating point of view and fra in cinema, however, I came to realize not only what could be done but also what couldn't be done; I saw that the predoe over other narrative elee but also a li discovery because only then did I become aware of the fact that the possibilities of the novel itself are unlirand symposium of intellectuals was held at the site of the Mayan archaeological ruins of Chichen Itza Carlos Fuentes, Jose Luis Cuevas and Willia the participants in as a real jamboree with its much-advertised intellectual dih jinks of every kind Of course no one at that ti Garcia Marquez, still unknown internationally nor would Garcia Marquez have thought of exposing himself to such an occasion However, when the participants set off for their various destinations via Mexico City Fuentes organized a huge and now legendary party at his house, at which Garcia Marquez was a guest and met the Chilean novelist Jose Donoso, who admired No One Writes to the Colonel and would reloomy, e as legendary as those of Ernesto Sabato and the eternal block of Juan Rulfoand Willia the party came two visits which were to prove decisive in Garcia Marquez's return to literature and the revolutionizing of his life While Ripstein was shooting Tiempo de morir Tiempo de morir in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, in June, Garcia Marquez was visited by Luis Harss, a young Chilean-A in New York in 1961 and as now preparing a book of critical interviews of leading Latin Aenerations in response to the sensational phenomenon that would later be called the Boom in Patzcuaro, Michoacan, in June, Garcia Marquez was visited by Luis Harss, a young Chilean-A in New York in 1961 and as now preparing a book of critical interviews of leading Latin Aenerations in response to the sensational phenoinally planned nine interviews Most of the other writers included were fairly obvious, though still shrewdly chosen: Miguel Angel Asturias, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, Joo Guimares Rosa, Juan Carlos Onetti and Juan Rulfo, froas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes from the writers of the Boom Garcia Marquez, however, was the brilliant exception The recoinally planned nine interviews Most of the other writers included were fairly obvious, though still shrewdly chosen: Miguel Angel Asturias, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, Joo Guimares Rosa, Juan Carlos Onetti and Juan Rulfo, froas Llosa and Carlos Fuentes from the writers of the Boom Garcia Marquez, however, was the brilliant exception The recommendation, inevitably, came from Fuentes50 The visit by Harss and his inclusion in this top ten listshot in the arm for Garcia Marquez The interview rehts into a man who, at that time, in his first serious major interview, had not yet developed the brash celebrity persona of later years, though he did begin by calling Colombian literature ”a casualty list” It was the first tiation and its effect on his own self-scrutiny and self-analysis is likely to have been draht on his feet, with a bristling s in his teeth He wears an open sports shi+rt, faded blue jeans, and a bulky jacket flung over his shouldersA strenuous life that ht have wrecked another man has provided Garcia Marquez with the rich hoard of personal experiences that for in Mexico He would go ho if he were needed there-but at theto offer each other For one thing, his politics are unwelcos on the subject Meantime-if life abroad can be an ordeal, it also has its coems With a handful of books behind him, each born of the labor of love, like a pearl in an oyster, he has begun to make a solid reputation for himself51 Later in the intervieever, Garcia Marquez would try to undermine Harss's view of him as constant and tenacious: ”I have fir to estion” And Harss noted that he also see his belt, cohts in his eyes He lets hi what is going to happen to hi his hands with anticipationHe has a way of startling hirant and full of surprises-he lies back on a bed, like a psychoanalytic patient, stubbing out cigarettes He talks fast, snatching thoughts as they cross histhe them in one end and out the other, only to lose them before he can pin theests he ison hi to overhear bits of a conversation in the next room What matters is what is left unsaid52 Was Garcia Marquez already like this or was he becoed on by the dra part? Who knows Harss would entitle his interview ”Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or the Lost Chord”

Just a feeeks later, following this first public camera flash, came a crucial business visit Since 1962 the Barcelona literary agent Carely hypothetical sense as the negotiator of his translations; whereas he, up to now, had been having a hard tie Balcells arrived in Mexico on Monday 5 July after a visit to New York, where she had negotiated a contract with Roger Klein of Harper and Row to publish Garcia Marquez's four extant works in English translation for 1,000 dollars53 She was an a young writer aching for success She introduced herself to her new author, explained the contract and waited for his reaction: ”The contract is a piece of shi+t,” was his reply The ebullient Balcells, rotund of face and body, and her husband Luis Palomares, had already been disconcerted by the Colombian's curious but characteristic ance, and must have been astounded that a writer alh opinion of his oorth This was not a good start: ”I found hiht about the contract” She was an a young writer aching for success She introduced herself to her new author, explained the contract and waited for his reaction: ”The contract is a piece of shi+t,” was his reply The ebullient Balcells, rotund of face and body, and her husband Luis Palomares, had already been disconcerted by the Colombian's curious but characteristic ance, and must have been astounded that a writer alh opinion of his oorth This was not a good start: ”I found hiht about the contract”54 Fortunately Garcia Marquez and Mercedes soon rallied and put on three days of guided tours and parties, cul of a second, spoof contract in which, like a colonel in one of his stories, and in the presence of Luis Vicens, he authorized Balcells to represent hies and on all sides of the Atlantic for 150 years Now his own short story eaving itsMaotiated with Era for new editions of Fortunately Garcia Marquez and Mercedes soon rallied and put on three days of guided tours and parties, cul of a second, spoof contract in which, like a colonel in one of his stories, and in the presence of Luis Vicens, he authorized Balcells to represent hies and on all sides of the Atlantic for 150 years Now his own short story eaving itsMaotiated with Era for new editions of No One Writes to the Colonel and In Evil Hour No One Writes to the Colonel and In Evil Hour, and would soon negotiate Italian translations with Feltrinelli She probably thought he should be grateful for his luck Little did she kno lucky she was going to be

After these unexpected visits froood news, Garcia Marquez decided to take the fa weekend, having been away fil The road down to Acapulco is one of thetwists and turns, and Garcia Marquez, who has always enjoyed driving, was delighting in the piloting of his little white Opel through the ever-changing panora is a skill at once so auto of concentration that it allows him to displace the surplus concentration to a consideration of his novels55 He had not been driving long that day when, ”from nowhere,” the first sentence of a novel floated down into his brain Behind it, invisible but palpable, was the entire novel, there as if dictated-downloaded-froic spell The secret formula of the sentence was in the point of view and, above all, in the tone: ”Many years later, as he faced the firing squad ” Garcia Marquez, as if in a trance, pulled over at the roadside, turned the Opel around, and drove back in the direction of Mexico City And thenHe had not been driving long that day when, ”from nowhere,” the first sentence of a novel floated down into his brain Behind it, invisible but palpable, was the entire novel, there as if dictated-downloaded-froic spell The secret formula of the sentence was in the point of view and, above all, in the tone: ”Many years later, as he faced the firing squad ” Garcia Marquez, as if in a trance, pulled over at the roadside, turned the Opel around, and drove back in the direction of Mexico City And then

It seerapher feels constrained to point out that there have been many versions of this story (as of so many others) and that the one just related cannot be true-or at least, cannot be as ested The different versions vary as to whether it was the first line that Garcia Marquez heard or whether it was just the i a boy to discover ice (or, indeed, to discover so ical, had certainly happened Whatever the truth, soical, had certainly happened

The classic version, just interrupted, has Garcia Marquez turning the car round the very mo the fa the novel as soon as he gets ho the line to hi on its i extensive notes when he gets to Acapulco, then starting the novel proper as soon as he gets back to the capital city57 This is certainly theof the different alternatives; but in all the versions the vacation is truncated and the boys and the long-suffering Mercedes, little knowing how long-suffering she would now be called upon to be, had to s their disappointment and wait for another holiday-an occasion which would be a long ti